


Growin' Up

by Stromesquad



Series: The Kayla McLeod Stories [2]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Boys In Love, Fluff, Happy Ending, I'm very attached to Kayla McLeod, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, She's the fuckin best, This fic is self care, no really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 10:27:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13634421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stromesquad/pseuds/Stromesquad
Summary: It’s 11:00 pm on a Thursday in the first week of November when Nate gets word...





	Growin' Up

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Lotts, Ash, Heather and Ang for being cheerleaders and to Rachel for catching all my double words and fixing my grammar. <3

It’s 11:00 pm on a Thursday in the first week of November when Nate gets word. He’s at Mikey’s and they are curled up together on the couch watching a movie when Nate’s phone rings. Noesen is out with a knee injury and Nate’s going to New Jersey. 

“I could hear what they were saying. How much stuff do you need to pack?” Mikey asks.

“Don’t really know. They’re putting me up in a hotel. It could be a couple games, could be a couple weeks. They don’t know the timeline yet. He just got injured tonight. They’re playing tomorrow though so they need me by morning skate. So I either need to leave tonight or get up at ass o’clock in the morning to drive.” 

“I’ll come help you pack.” Mikey shoves the blanket off their lap. He sticks his head in the kitchen. “Mom, Nate got called up so we’re going to go over there and pack him some stuff. I’ll text you and let you know when I’ll be home.” He comes back into the room. “Okay, let’s go get you ready Mr. NHL player.”

Nate and Mikey take separate cars to his apartment so he doesn’t have to drop Mikey off and can just get on the road. He sighs. He wishes they’d just driven together. It’s quiet and he doesn’t know how long he’ll be up. He kind of just wants to bask in Mikey’s presence for as long as possible. He’s kind of like Nate’s own personal ray of sunshine, crooked smile breathing warmth into nights that are starting to get cold. Either way, he knows he is going to bed alone tonight when he planned to be with Mikey.

They get to his apartment one right after the other and walk in holding hands. Once they get inside, Mikey lets go and pulls out his phone. 

“Okay babe, let’s assume 2 weeks. That gives you enough stuff but like you can do laundry if you’re there longer.”

“That sounds good.” Nate likes that Mikey takes charge like this sometimes. He’s organized and good at attacking a plan. Nate guesses it comes from having a kid. They make a list and pack. With two sets of hands it takes them all of a half hour to finish. 

Nate makes the decision to leave tonight. Leaving at 5:00 am and going straight to the rink sounds awful, even if it means he loses a night with Mikey. It sucks, but this is what he signed up for, both by being a hockey player and deciding to date someone seriously. You’re always leaving but it’s okay. You have someone to come home to.

Nate kisses Mikey goodbye as he gets in his car. 

“Text me when you get there. I love you.”

“I know you’re going to try but don’t wait up for me. I’m not getting in until at least 3:00 and you have to get up at 6:00.”

Mikey pouts but he agrees. “As long as you text me that you’re safe.”

Nate laughs. “You’re such a dad.”

They kiss one more time and Nate gets in the car and goes. It’s both a long drive and not a long drive at the same time. He’s been on longer ones for hockey but this one’s a little lonely. He checks into the Courtyard Marriott where they are putting him up. He texts Mikey as he’s climbing into bed at 3:45. 

_Here safe, love u_

He gets a text back. 

_Love u 2_

Nate sighs. _Thought i told u 2 go 2 bed_

_Did but i set my alarm 4 when i thought youd get in_

And then

_Woke up 5 minutes before ur txt  
Im just that good_

Nate laughs softly to himself. Mikey’s the best. He’s so glad he read to Kayla’s class those couple of weeks last winter. 

_Go back to 2 sleep ill call u tmrw_

_Love u_

_Love u 2_

Nate sets his alarm for 8:00. The rink is literally right next to the hotel. He’ll have no problem getting there for morning skate. He yawns, rolls over, and goes to sleep. He dreams of waking up next to Mikey. 

***

Nate’s first game is a whirlwind. It’s not his first ever NHL game, he’s played a couple here and there over the last two seasons but this time it feels like something clicks. He scores his first NHL point and he gets an assist, a two point night for his first game up in an entire year. After his goal, his linemates pile onto him at boards screaming. It feels amazing. Things are going right.

They go out for drinks and some of the guys he played with in Binghamton stick close by, catching up on old friends. 

“You still seeing that guy? What’s his name?”

“Mikey? Yeah. He’s good.” Nate smiles wider than he already is. He’s glad Blake remembers. He’d just started bringing Mikey around when Blake got called up. 

“Cool.” Blake kind of just ends the conversation there which is fine because mention of Mikey makes Nate want to call him. 

He has a missed call from Mikey from around 10:00 with a voicemail and a text with a video attached. He opens up the video and it’s Kayla running around in a circle in her Binghamton jersey with Nate’s number on it just shrieking on the top of her lungs. The text reads: _this was her reaction to your goal and it went on for 5 min_

Nate closes the text and listens to the voicemail.

“Hey babe. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am. Two points! I hope you are out having fun with the team. I hope you enjoyed the video of Kayla. Not sure who was prouder, her or me.”

It’s just after midnight so Mikey is probably already in bed but Nate calls anyway. It’s a Friday night so he doesn’t feel as bad about waking Mikey up as he normally would. Even Kayla sleeps in on Saturdays.

The phone rings twice before Mikey answers with a sleepy “Hi.”

“Hey babe. Sorry to wake you.”

“No it’s okay. Wasn’t asleep just yet.”

“Still sorry.”

Nate can hear Mikey’s smile as he says, “Don’t be. Always wanna talk to you.” Mikey yawns again.

“Go to sleep.” 

“Nope. How did that goal feel?”

“God, it was unreal. It was like flying.”

They talk for a little longer and when Mikey yawns for the sixth time in five minutes, Nate makes him hang up and go to sleep. 

“I love you. Go to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Love you too, night babe.”

***

It looks like Noesen is going to be out six to eight weeks so Nate might be up for a while and Nate is playing the best hockey of his life. He’s gotten 2 more assists over the last 4 games. He’s fitting in seamlessly with the team, rekindling friendships from Binghamton and getting along with guys he got to know a little better at training camp. Taylor Hall certainly seems to like him, but Hallsy seems to like everyone so.

After his fifth game, Coach calls him into the office. 

“You’ve been playing really well. We’d like you to stay up until Noesen comes back. Keep playing hard kid and you might earn yourself a spot even after he comes back.”

And he does. Nate is absolutely playing the best hockey of his career and it pays off. Five weeks later, management tells Nate to find an apartment, that he will be staying with the team, no matter when Noesen comes back. 

Nate looks at a couple of apartment building the other guys live in, the single ones mostly. All the guys with kids have houses and most of the ones with long-term girlfriends do too. He looks at one and 2-bedroom apartments and finds one he kind of loves. It doesn’t have a great view or anything but it has good light and it just… feels homey? He asks the realtor if he can have a minute to make a phone call and she leaves him standing in the kitchen. He leans on the counter and dials Mikey.

“I am getting a 2-bedroom,” he says instead of hello when Mikey answers.

“Why? It's probably expensive and it's just you.”

Nate takes a deep breath and sighs. Someday, Mikey will understand what he means to Nate, what Kayla means to Nate. They haven't really talked about it but Nate thought it was clear. 

“It's not though. It's not just me anymore.” Nate pauses and Mikey stays silent so he continues. “It's not just me, Mikey. It's me and you and Kayla.”

Mikey takes a deep breath. Nate knows if he was there, Mikey would be biting his lip and looking at his feet, the same way he did the first time he’d said “I love you.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Mikey. I'm all in.” 

“Me too.” 

“So I'm getting 2-bedroom because even if you guys only come down a couple times, I want Kayla to have a bedroom to sleep in. Plus it can double as a guest room for when family comes down.”

“That sounds good.” Mikey's smiling. Nate can hear it in his voice.

“This place does short term leases so we can really pick one out together after you graduate.”

“Nate… did you just ask me to move in?” 

“Yes?”

“Really? You’d want that?”

“Well, not right this second because you have to finish school but, yeah. Yeah. I want to be with you all the time Mikey. Do you not want to live with me?”

“Of course I do! I just… You remember I have a kid, right? It’s not just moving in with me. She doesn’t just visit on the weekends?”

“Yeah. I know. I… Didn’t we just talk about this like five minutes ago? You know I love Kayla. We’re… You’re my family.”

“Yeah?” Mikey sniffs.

“Yeah.” Nate’s eyes are watering and if Mikey’s continued sniffing, his are too. “Yeah.” 

The realtor comes back around the corner and Nate hastily wipes at his eyes. “I’ll call you later. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Nate spends a second looking at Mikey’s contact picture as he hangs up before turning back to the realtor. 

“I’ll take it.” He knows he’s smiling like an idiot but it’s fine. 

Nate spends another week in the hotel while he and Mikey pick out furniture together on the Ikea website. It goes surprisingly easy for two people who currently live 3 hours apart. They have similar taste and are looking for the same things. A pull-out couch, white bedroom furniture for the guest room, which is really Kayla’s, stools with cushions for the breakfast bar. They splurge on a really nice mattress that Mikey insists on helping Nate pay for. Mikey packs Nate’s things in Binghamton with his mom’s help and is there to direct the movers when they come. 

***

Mikey and Kayla come down to visit on a Friday morning, following the moving truck on its way from Binghamton to Jersey City, where Nate is finishing assembling their bed before the mattress gets delivered. He got in late last night from Montreal and has to go back to the hotel for his pregame nap soon but he wanted to make sure he was here when Mikey got in, instead of leaving a key with the front office. He put Mikey’s name on the lease, but Mikey doesn’t know that yet. 

When Mikey and Kayla get in, Nate gets attack hugged by Kayla who tries to climb him. He bends down and scoops her up. 

“Hey cupcake! Are you enjoying skipping school?” He smacks a kiss on her cheek. Kayla turns and kisses his cheek in return.

“It’s not like they didn’t know! And you are more important than first grade. I already did my homework.” Kayla giggles. 

Nate turns to Mikey. “Hey handsome.” He leans over and kisses Mikey on the lips gently. “Missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Mikey is smiling so big it hurts Nate’s heart a little. God he’s so in love. “What’s the plan for the day?”

“I’ve got another hour before I have to go back to the hotel and nap. Mattresses get delivered at 1:30. I finished our bed but Kayla’s needs to finish being built.” 

“Can I help?” Kayla asks. 

“Sweetie, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Why don’t you sit in the kitchen and play on the iPad? The movers are bringing stuff up.” 

Kayla listens and plops down at the already assembled kitchen table with her iPad while Mikey and Nate head to her bedroom.

“Thought we were calling this a guest room?” Mikey asks, giving Nate a little side-eye. 

“Come on, Mikey. You know it’s really hers.” 

Mikey sighs but he’s smiling.

They manage, by some miracle, to build the bed in 45 minutes without fighting, and come out to an apartment full of boxes. Everything looks to be in the right room which either means the movers read the labels or Kayla bossed them around. Knowing Kayla, it was the latter. Nate has never been more grateful that Mikey’s kid is so smart and also so bossy. He looks at the time.

“Shit, I’ve gotta go to the hotel. I’ll see you guys after the game.”

“Have a good nap! We’ll try to get some unpacking done for you before the game.”

Nate kisses them both goodbye on his way out the door. He can’t wait for this to be his life full time.

 

During warm-ups, Mikey and Kayla are at the glass, grinning wide, with a red and black glittery sign saying “We love Nate! Go #42!” and Nate just knows there is going to be glitter on his apartment floor. He’s not even a little bit mad. Nate’s been pretty proud of making the NHL, but he’s never been prouder than this moment. 

***

The Devils’ family skate and Christmas party is when it really hits home that he's in the NHL now. He's staying. And now he gets to introduce this new hockey family to Mikey and Kayla. It goes as well as can be expected. Mikey and Nate skate lazy circles around the ice together while Kayla zooms around trying to get every single guy to chase her and play tag. She succeeds with Taylor Hall. Mikey and Nate stop skating and lean against the boards to watch. Kayla is using her small size to her advantage. Taylor lets her and it's kind of heartwarming to watch.

“I think my kid may have made friends with Taylor Hall. Oh my god, my kid just tricked Taylor Hall into being her friend.” Mikey's blushing a little and laughing. Nate is… even more charmed than usual. 

“Last time she made a hockey player friend, it worked out pretty well for you.” Nate says. 

“Yeah, it really did.” Mikey kisses Nate on the cheek and they get some catcalls from the other guys on the ice. It's fine, Nate knows they are being sappy and gross but it's fine. He thinks he's allowed since they are going to be seeing each other so infrequently. 

Kayla almost trips one of the player’s girlfriends darting around as she plays tag. 

“Should we stop her before she hurts someone or…” Nate asks. 

“Nah, let her tire herself out. Then we don't have to worry about her later.” Mikey winks, honest to God winks, at Nate and they both blush.

Kayla shrieks from across the ice where Taylor’s caught up to her and picks her up from behind. Taylor skates her around in a circle then sets her down. He turns around and Kayla tries to jump onto his back.

“HEY!” Mikey shouts. “No piggy back rides in skates!” 

Nate doesn't know who looks more disappointed, Kayla or Taylor. He watches them skate over to the bench so Kayla can take off her skates for her piggy back ride. It's sweet. He's glad his teammates like Mikey and Kayla. Makes life easier. He has a feeling Taylor will be asking for Kayla updates all the time. Maybe Mikey can add him to the “Kayla Picture Email List.” It's a pretty big list but Kayla's a pretty great kid. 

When the festivities are over, Kayla falls asleep in the car on the way back. Nate carries her up to the apartment. They wake her up just enough to let Mikey help her get into pajamas. She's back asleep instantly. 

“She hasn't done that since she was four and fell asleep on the way home from one your games.” Mikey chuckles softly as he shuts the door to Kayla's room.

It's calm and quiet and he's with Mikey. Nate has never been happier. He kisses Mikey gently and tells him so. 

“Same. I love you.”

“Come in, let's go make use of that new bed.” Nate says, taking Mikey's hand and pulling him towards the bedroom.

***

Nate can't make it up to Binghamton on Mikey’s birthday so he decides to drive up the next morning, in time to crash Kayla’s 9:00 am hockey practice. There’s an optional skate on Sunday and they don't have practice until 3:00 on Monday so he’ll get an entire day with Mikey. He plays his Saturday night game and scores a goal. He sets his alarm for 5:00 am so he can be on the road by 5:30. He packs his sticks and his gloves. If he's going to a hockey practice, he might as well help out. 

Nate drives straight to the rink, grabs his stuff and walks into the building to the kids on a break from drills. Kayla sees him first and just screams and skates over to the bench. It's a special scream, Nate thinks, one she uses only for him. She starts jumping up and down on the ice. Mikey turns around and his face lights up, mouth open in surprise but smiling. 

“Hey. Happy birthday!” Nate says as he walks over to the bench. He sets his bag and sticks down and climbs over onto the bench. He hugs Mikey tight. 

“Hey! I didn't know you were coming!” Mikey says as Nate sits down and puts on his skates.

“Optional skate today and practice isn't until 3:00 tomorrow. Of course I came to see you.” 

“I can't believe you brought your skates!”

“You think I'd miss a chance to be your assistant coach?” 

Kayla makes a grumpy noise, having been ignored after getting to the bench. “When do I get my hug, Nate? Daddy got his. It's my turn.” 

“One sec, kiddo. I'll hug you when I get out on the ice. Extra special big hug, okay?”

She huffs a sigh. “Okay, fine.” She draws out the I in fine dramatically but lets Nate finish putting in his skates without pouting too much. When he's done he climbs over the boards and crouches down next to Kayla.

“Monster hug time.” He spreads his arms and braces himself for impact. Kayla launches into him and he wraps his arms around her and picks her up. He kisses her forehead. “How's my best girl?”

“Good. Ready to help me practice?”

“You betcha.” Nate sets Kayla back down on the ice. 

They run drills for the remaining half hour of practice and as all the kids are leaving, Kayla asks if she can trade sticks with Nate. He obliges and leans on Kayla's stick as she stumbles around the ice with his. She trips over it and starts laughing when she falls but Nate skates over anyway. “You okay kiddo?”

“Yeah, but maybe I should keep my own stick, huh?”

“Yeah, probably.” He pats her helmet. “You ready to go? We’re going to go out for lunch together because I'm going out for a special dinner tonight with your daddy.”

“Okay,” she sighs dramatically, clearly unhappy to be left out.

“Come on. Your daddy and I need alone time sometimes. I promise, we won't go out until after your bedtime.”

“Okay,” Kayla responds, a little less put upon this time. 

They go out for lunch where Nate can get something healthy to eat and then head back to Mikey's. They spend the day piled on the couch watching movies that they let Mikey pick. Mikey and Nate tuck Kayla in bed and read her a bedtime story. Nate kisses her on the forehead and says “Goodnight baby girl. I'll be here for breakfast tomorrow okay?”

“Goodnight Nate. I love you. Goodnight Daddy. I love you.” She yawns. “Don't have too much fun without me.” 

They leave and close the door. Nate makes Mikey get dressed up and takes him out to a nice restaurant. 

They have a nice, happy dinner out, feet tangled under the table, fingers tangled on top of it. Nate wishes they didn't have to stop holding hands to eat. They share a dessert and Mikey scoots his chair around so they are sitting next to each other and can feed each other bites. It’s sappy and would probably be embarrassing to anyone else but he knows their time together will be even more limited as the season goes on.

They get home at 10:00 to a quiet house. They go back to Mikey's room, peel each other out of their clothes and have slow, sweet sex, kissing each other to keep quiet. Nate's so fucking happy it's stupid.

***

It's not easy, but Nate and Mikey make it work, even with the limited time and distance. They Skype every day that Nate doesn't have a game and often on the nights he does. As long as games are in Eastern time, they Skype. They've fallen asleep, laying in their separate beds with the call open, hands outstretched, reaching for each other across the miles. 

Nate and Mikey aren't able to see each other again until March when Mikey has his winter break. It coincides with a homestand. Mikey comes down for a few days, without Kayla because she has school. Nate thanks every God he's ever heard of that Mikey is only 3 hours away because he needed this visit. He needed the stress relief of seeing his boyfriend’s face for a few days even if they don’t have time to do much other than just curl up together on the couch and occasionally trade soft, lazy kisses. 

Mikey leaves on Tuesday morning as Nate leaves for morning skate. He wishes Mikey could stay for just one more game but he wants to be home in time to get some work done and pick Kayla up from school.

“I’ll see you in less than a month,” Mikey says after kissing Nate. “It’s going to fly by, I promise.”

“Still gonna miss you,” Nate says, pressing their foreheads together. It’s only 26 days. He can deal. He kisses Mikey again. “Go, or I’m going to drag you to the rink with me and not let you go.”

Mikey laughs. “I’ll miss you too.”

“Give Kayla a kiss for me.”

“Always.” Mikey smiles, ducks into his car, and drives away.

Nate doesn’t stop waving until he can’t see Mikey’s car anymore. He sighs, gets into his own and drives to the rink. Back to the regular grind. Living with Mikey will be a gift. 

***

Mikey’s spring break is at the same time as Kayla's and happens at the same time as the final homestand of the season so they both come down and stay for almost a full week. They get in before Nate gets back, late, from Montreal and he gets to crawl into a bed that's warm from Mikey's body heat for the first time in a month. Mikey stirs. 

“Shh. It's 2 in the morning don't wake up.” Nate presses a kiss to Mikey's forehead. “I'll be in in a second.” Mikey reaches for him and curls his hand around Nate's wrist. He pulls Nate in and kisses him on the lips. God, Nate can't wait to have this all the time. 

“I’ll be right back. I'm just getting out of my suit.” Mikey lets go of his wrist. 

Nate strips and climbs into bed and Mikey kisses him again. They trade slow, sleepy kisses until Mikey drifts off again. Nate curls around his boyfriend and places a final kiss to his temple and falls asleep. He wakes up warm and happy if earlier than he would like but it's worth it, for Mikey. 

The next day, Nate has a late morning practice and after that, a free afternoon. He meets Mikey and Kayla at the Turtle Back Zoo at around 12:30. They go to the bird exhibit and buy sticks of bird seed and watch as birds flock to Kayla. One lands on her shoulder and she looks thrilled to have made a friend. Mikey is looking down on her smiling. It's so sweet and they look so happy. Nate snaps a picture and sets it as his lock screen. He loves this little family so much he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

It hits him, in that moment, incredibly clear and bright; he wants to marry Mikey. He wants to spend the rest of his life with this incredible man, incredible dad. He wants everything that comes with that. He wants to be Kayla’s dad, Mikey’s partner in parenting. He wants to come home to both of these people at the end of every game, after every long road trip. It’s not enough to just live together, Nate thinks. He wants something more concrete and binding. He wants to marry Mikey. No second thoughts. 

He figures he kind of has to ask Kayla’s permission first. He wouldn’t marry Mikey if Kayla didn’t want him to. She comes first, always. For Mikey, and now for Nate. Well, Nate guesses, it’s been that way for kind of a while. He doesn’t want to wait. 

At the end of their trip to the zoo, while Kayla’s in the bathroom, Nate asks, “Can I take Kayla out for dinner by my  
self tonight?” It’s not the first time they’ve gone out just the two of them. 

“Yeah, sure. Any reason?”

“Not really, just want to get some Kayla time in. I miss her, ya know?”

“Yeah. She’s a pretty great kid.” Mikey’s smiling. 

Kayla comes out of the bathroom and Nate immediately stoops down to ask her if she wants to go to dinner with just him and leave her daddy home for the night. She readily agrees. They go back home and watch a movie for a bit. Nate spends the whole time thinking about how he wants to propose to Mikey. Graduation day sounds like a pretty good day. He doesn’t want to wait.

Nate and Kayla head out for dinner around 5:00. They order their food before Nate starts. “Kayla, I have to ask you something very important. And I need you not to yell.” 

“Okay, promise not to yell.” She smiles. She knows it’s something exciting.

“Your daddy and I have already talked a little bit about you moving here after he finishes school. How do you feel about that?”

“You mean, I’d get to see you all the time?” She asks.

“Yeah you’d get to see me all the time.” Kayla’s smile widens and Nate continues. “But that’s not the only thing I wanted to ask you. How would you feel if I married Mikey?”

Kayla makes an aborted noise like she’s trying not to scream. Her eyes are wide and she’s beaming. “I’m trying very hard not to scream but yes. Yes, please marry Daddy. We love you so much!” She rocks back and forth in her chair. If she were standing she would definitely be jumping up and down. 

“Okay good. I… I don’t want to wait long So I’m going to propose at graduation. Do you want to help me?”

“Of course! Can I make a sign? Can it have glitter on it? Does this mean I can call you Dad instead of Nate? Mikey’s Daddy so I want you to be Dad. Will you be Dad?”

“Whoa. Slow down, kiddo. Of course I’ll be your Dad. Nothing would make me happier. You know I love you, right?”

“I love you too, Dad.” Nate’s eyes start to tear up a little so he bites his lip to stop from crying. This is everything he never knew he wanted and everything he’s so glad he gets to have now and hopes to have forever. 

“I think my glitter sign should say ‘ Will you make Nate my dad?’” 

“That sounds absolutely perfect.”

***

They make the playoffs, third place in the Metro. They face Columbus in the first round and take the series in six. It’s a knock down drag out series. Nate’s alone for all of it. Mikey can’t make it down for any of the home games with his schedule of exams and project due dates. He’s okay though. His teammates are good, especially the single guys. They make sure he goes out for dinner with them when they need to and that he gets to the bar after game six. 

Nate calls Mikey from the bar bathroom. He’s not sure when he became such a lightweight but he shouldn’t be this drunk after three and a half beers. Mikey answers on the fifth ring sounding slow, vowels dragging. 

“Hey babe. Congrats on the win! Second round!” Mikey manages to muster up enough sleepy enthusiasm to sound like he has exclamation points at the end of his sentences but not enough to be shouting. 

Nate looks down at his watch and realizes that it’s 1:30 am and that Mikey was definitely sleeping. It’s a Tuesday night and he has to get Kayla to school by 8:15 and has a 9:30 class. “Shit! I’m so sorry to wake you up! I didn’t realize it was so late.” His voice is a little soft around the edges, just the stage before slurred.

“It’s okay. I was hoping you’d call. I’m glad you went out for drinks with the team though. Did you have fun?” 

“Yeah, we are.”

Mikey laughs, “You’re hiding in the bar bathroom aren’t you?”

Before Nate can answer Coleman sticks his head in and shouts, “Yo! Nater if you’re in here, get your ass out. We’re doing a round of shots!” 

“Go,” Mikey says, clearly having heard. “I’ll call you in the morning. I promise not too early. Go have fun.” 

“Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.” And with that Mikey hangs up.

Blake is waiting outside the bathroom for Nate. “Called your boy?”

“Yeah,” Nate grins. “Love him so much. Gonna marry him. He’s just the best and he smells nice and he’s so...” 

“Okay, Nater,” Blake interrupts. “That’s gross. Keep going and I’ll puke all over you for it.” 

Nate’s still beaming when they get back to the bar where he does one last shot of whiskey. Someone pulls him out on the dance floor where he stays until last call. He pours himself into a cab and then later into bed.

He wakes up to a text message from Mikey. 

_Go drink a glass of water, take 2 advil and call me_

It’s 11:00 am. Mikey’s the best boyfriend in the world.

***

Round Two is a dogfight between them and the Penguins. _Why is it always the fucking Penguins,_ is the internal monologue of just about everyone on the team. (Poor Caps, didn’t even get out of the first round this year.) The Penguins play dirty, with bad hits, high sticks, an occasional slew foot. The Devils try to play clean but against a team like that you can’t. Nate has so many bruises, even his bruises have bruises. It goes to double overtime in game seven. They lose it in the dying seconds of that last OT on a Sidney Crosby goal because, of course. It’s always a Sidney Crosby goal. 

Nate’s ashamed to say he’s a little relieved. He doesn’t know if his body could handle even one more game, let alone four. And now he can go to Mikey’s graduation. He calls Mikey.

“Can I come stay with you after locker clean out?”

“Of course! We’d love to have you. You know that.” 

“Okay, I’ll be up there in a few days. I’ll probably leave right from the rink that day. God, I miss your face.”

Mikey chuckles, “Miss yours more.”

“Not possible.” 

“Ugh, I have to go. My study group starts in like 15 minutes and I still need to walk to the student center. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

***

In the time between losing and locker clean out, Nate does something that makes him happy. He goes and buys Mikey a ring. It’s a simple band, nothing decorative, but he gets it engraved _To Mikey, the greatest love of my life._ It’s sappy, and if any of the guys on the team knew about it, he’d never stop getting shit for it but he doesn’t care. When it comes to Mikey, he is and forever will be a sap. 

Locker clean out is on a Friday and it goes fine as much as anything is fine after you suffer a devastating playoff loss. Like Nate, for a lot of these guys, it was their first appearance. He can’t tell if it makes the blow better or worse. Hopefully he’ll find out next year. He picks up the ring after practice and buries it at the bottom of his suitcase. He’ll hide it with Judi when he gets to their place. 

The drive is more exhausting than usual and takes an extra 45 minutes because he gets stuck in traffic. It’s rush hour and of course when Nate has somewhere he really really wants to be, there’s an accident . Nate gets in around 7:30. He doesn’t even want the dinner Mikey saved for him but he eats it anyway. Then he just plops down on the couch and tucks his head on Mikey’s shoulder. Kayla climbs in his lap. He feels like he can breathe for the first time since the last goal horn sounded. They have a quiet night, just on the couch, being in each other’s space. He lets Mikey be the big spoon because all he wants is to be held.

They have two weeks and three finals for Mikey before graduation. Nate hides the ring in Mikey’s mom’s room to keep it safe and hidden from Mikey. He and Kayla make the sign while Mikey’s taking his last final. Kayla insists on all red and glitter. When he asks why, she says “It’s a Devils color, Nate. Duh,” which makes Nate laugh. Then Kayla starts laughing and before he knows it both he and Kayla are covered in paint and glitter and having a ton of fun. The sign gets hidden behind Kayla’s dresser in her bedroom since she didn’t want to part with it. 

Mikey aces all his finals. He’s graduating with honors and found a job in New York City and Nate is so fucking proud. 

The day of Mikey’s graduation dawns clear and bright. Nate’s nervous as he climbs out of bed after Mikey and kisses him good morning. They eat breakfast together before Mikey splits off to get to school for ceremony preparation. Nate rides over with Mikey’s parents, sitting in the back seat with Kayla and the sign, which has already shed glitter, somehow into Kayla’s hair. He now realizes that his yes to glitter was a big mistake. You live and learn he supposes. 

The ceremony feels like it lasts forever, even though it’s just the business school, and Nate shifts in his seat uncomfortably until they call Mikey’s name. He stands up and cheers, lifting Kayla as she goes so he can see. He thinks he might be deaf in one ear from her shouting. The rest of the ceremony takes about 45 minutes and then they are walking over to where they are going to meet Mikey before going out to lunch. He holds Kayla’s hand tightly.

“Don’t worry. Daddy will say yes,” she says quietly. “I know he will.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, how can anyone say no to our sign?”

Nate smiles down at Kayla. He couldn’t love this kid more if she were his own. They wait about 15 minutes at the meeting place before Kayla spots Mikey and starts jumping up and down.

“Daddy’s coming! Daddy’s coming! Places everyone!” She yelps as she unrolls the sign. 

Mikey gets about 10 feet away and stops. He stops and puts a hand to his mouth. He looks like he’s about to cry. Nate walks forward and meets Mikey where he is. He gets down on one knee.

“Mikey, you are the single best thing that’s ever happened to me. Including become an NHL player.” He pauses as Mikey lets out a strangled laugh. “I love you more every single day. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to share every joy, every sorrow, every frustration. I want to share Kayla’s life with her, including the terrible teenage years. You are my family, my best friend, the love of my life. Will you please make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

Mikey is definitely crying. He nods, too overcome to speak for a moment, but then says, “Yes. Of course I’ll marry you. Of course you can be Kayla’s dad. I love you so much. Yes!” 

Mikey pulls Nate off his knees and kisses him. It ends abruptly when Kayla jump hugs them and almost knocks them down. Mikey reaches down and picks her up.

“So what do you think, kiddo? Wanna be my best man.”

“I can’t Daddy,” she says very seriously. “I have to be Dad’s.” 

It’s the first time Nate’s heard Kayla call him Dad since they went out for dinner and he loses it. He is crying and he’s clinging to his little family as hard as he can. This is real. They’re going to make it work. Mikey’s going to be his happily ever after. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

***

When Kayla finally finishes her school year in June, they pack up Mikey's and Kayla's things and move most of them to New Jersey. They spend a week apartment hunting only to decide they like where they are. They sign for another year in this place and figure they can revisit expanding later. They put away all their winter things but put the summer boxes back in the car and drive up to Mississauga. They decide to get married in Ontario since that's where their families are from. Mikey mostly has high school and hockey friends he's kept, despite life changes and moving for school, that live in the GTA and let's face it, most of Nate's friends that he'd invite are hockey players who can probably afford to travel. 

Nate signs on with a trainer in the GTA and gets an apartment for him, Mikey and Kayla in Mississauga so they can be near Mikey's family for Kayla. Nate's aren't that far away, just over an hour, and Nate has a guest room. They have a fun summer but it's a little stressful. They're planning their wedding for next summer and they are cramming almost all of that into two and a half months. Nate's looked at so many buildings and judged so many dance floors it's starting to run together. They don't want anything extravagant. 

They get in exactly three fights about planning which Nate counts as a win. The biggest one is over flowers of all things. Mikey hates them and Nate thinks some flowers might be nice and they'd make his mom happy. 

“I hate them, Nate. They make me sneeze and they don't even look that nice. It's OUR wedding, not your mom's.”

“I'm just saying SOME flowers would be nice. And don't you dare want to make your mom happy?! We're only getting married once, Mikey. Once. This is forever. Remember that?” Nate watches Kayla roll her eyes from across the room in the way only an almost seven year old can. It's kind of cue for him to take a step back and think. So he does just that. He steps back from where he'd been face to face with Mikey shouting about literally nothing. “What if we have flowers for the ceremony but not the reception. And we can get roses. Those don't make you sneeze.”

Mikey's face cracks into a small smile. “That… that sounds great, actually? And I guess flowers would make my mom happy too.” 

Kayla snickers where she's sitting like she knew this was going to happen. She probably did. Kid’s definitely smarter than him and Mikey combined. Probably gets it from her mom. 

“What do you think,” Nate asks Kayla. 

She grins and says, “I like flowers. They make ME happy.” And maybe they should have just asked Kayla all along because as much as this will be Nate and Mikey’s day, it's Kayla's too. It's about making a family not just a marriage. Flowers it definitely is. 

***

The rest of the summer flies by. Before Nate knows what happened, he's packing his things and they are driving to New Jersey for training camp and Mikey's job. They shop for a new apartment and see three other buildings but keep coming back to the place they already have. 

“It’s a good building. The people who live here either don’t care about hockey or are used to players coming in and out,” Nate says. 

“Make sense. We just need to worry about schools for Kayla.”

“The elementary school is around the corner.”

Kayla decides to pitch in, “I like this building. It has a pool!” 

Nate ruffles her hair and laughs. “That it does kiddo. I think it’s a good place.” 

It’s a nice apartment and it has its own parking. They need cars. Even without the extra bedroom, the living room is big enough for their pull out or an air mattress. It’s not a bad deal for where they are. And if Mikey gets a job in the city, it’s close to public transit. Nate’s ELC is up at the end of the season, they’ll talk about moving after that. He’s pretty happy with their choice. 

Mikey’s job is at a small marketing firm, working for their PR department. It’s kind of funny that he’s so good with social media for other people. He sucks at it for himself and the only reason he has a twitter is because Nate made him one. He rarely uses it, mostly only to retweet things from Nate or the Devils. They don’t have a ton of time to get settled in with Mikey having to run around to finish getting his work visa settled and one for Kayla so she can go to school. It eats all of the end of August and the beginning of September for the visas to come through and finish unpacking all the stuff from Mikey’s place. They finish just in time for Nate to start training camp. Mikey’s papers come through and he starts work around the same time.

Training camp is hard, feels harder than last year because Nate needs this spot. He’s sure he’s going to make it but he needs to. He skates his heart out every practice and every preseason game he plays in. He makes the roster out of camp and coach tells him to relax a little. He’s earned his spot on this team and isn’t in danger of getting sent back to Binghamton. Nate’s not going to relax though. It’s his last year on his ELC and he’s determined to make himself worth a decent contract for next year. For Mikey and for Kayla.

The home opener is on a Saturday night which is perfect according to Nate because it means Kayla can come and they don’t have to worry about her being too tired in school. Nate made Mikey promise only to come to games on weeknights once a month, maybe twice, so he doesn’t burn himself out. He’s got a job to go to in the mornings and he still gets up at 6:00 to get himself and Kayla ready to go. Nate usually rolls out of bed in time to give Mikey a sleepy kiss goodbye and get himself just ready enough to walk Kayla to school. So sometimes weeknight games are even too late for Nate. He’ll make Mikey take care of himself, otherwise Mikey wouldn’t. So it’s a good thing the home opener is on a Saturday, because Nate really wants both Mikey and Kayla to be there.

Nate’s warming up with Hallsy when Brian Boyle skates by and taps him on the shins with his stick. 

“I think there’s something you need to see.” He points across the rink to see a blonde head of hair and a #42 jersey that says something far too short to “Bastian.”

“Oh my god.”

“Go look!” Hallsy is grinning at him, like he knows what’s going on. 

Nate skates over to the other side of the ice and Kayla is wearing a jersey that says “Dad” over his number and Kayla peering over her shoulder waiting for him. She points to he back with both thumbs and then turns around. She yells “I love you, Dad,” and Nate mouths it back. He has to take his gloves off to wipe tears from his eyes. 

This is real. This is his life. This is his family and he gets to keep it forever. He’s never been more grateful for anything. He scores a goal and someone manages to snag him the puck. Boyler slides it to him after the game. There’s tape around it that says “First goal as a dad.”

“Thought you might want this. First goal with your kid in the arena is pretty fuckin’ special.”

“It’s not the first time Kayla’s been to a game. She’s been watching me play since before I even knew her.”

“Yeah, but it is the first time she’s been to a game as your kid. Quit arguing and keep the puck Bastian.”

He does. He brings it home and hands it to Kayla. She smiles really wide. 

“Let’s go put it with your other ‘Firsts’ pucks, Dad.” 

It gets displayed on the shelf in their living room with his other firsts from juniors up. It’s the puck he is most proud of.

***

Hockey seasons are always going to be hard, stressful and exhausting but it’s so much better coming home to Mikey and Kayla makes it so much easier. Mikey’s almost always awake when he gets home from home games, even if he’s laying in bed reading. Whenever he’s home, he gets to kiss Kayla goodnight and read her a story. And when he’s not, well sometimes, he brings his own copy of Kayla’s bedtime story, and he will read it to her on skype. He doesn’t get to do that often, but when they have off days on road trips, he always, always does. He’s getting to be there for his kid. He’s playing hockey in the NHL and he’s going to marry the love of his life. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The season flies by like this. A whirlwind of hockey, travel, and stolen moments at home, comfortable, with the people he loves most. His parents come to visit, Mikey’s come to visit. They get dinner with Mikey’s brother Ryan when his team is in town. Ryan tells a cute story about Kayla refusing to let go of him so he took her down on stage to meet management and get his jersey. They let him get Kayla back to Mikey before he did press but it made for some really cute pictures. Nate remembers the incident, but it’s more fun hearing it told first hand. Kayla’s going to do what Kayla wants to do. Sometimes, it’s her world and Nate’s just along for the ride. They’re lucky she is such a good kid, but man, they may be in trouble for her teen years.

The Devils get eliminated from the playoffs in the conference finals. It sucks worse than just about anything he’s ever felt. As much is it sucks to have lost this at home, at least he gets to crawl in bed with Mikey at the end. Around 2:30 am, Nate wakes up to the bed shifting on his side. He rolls over to find Kayla and her stuffed dog climbing into bed next to him. 

“Mr. Wuffles and I thought you might still be sad so we wanted to come lay with you and Daddy. Can we stay?” 

“‘Course kiddo,” Mikey mumbles sleepily. 

Nate falls back to sleep surrounded by the warmth of his family. 

***

Mikey gets permission from his firm to work for two weeks of vacation for their wedding in early July, and then permission to work from home for another month after. The benefits of working for such a small company. 

They get married on a clear, sunny day in early July. Kayla wears flowers in her hair.

Nate is proud to say he only cries a little saying his vows. Mikey cries a lot. They dance the night away. It’s everything Nate could ever have hoped for and he’ll work every day to make sure he’s worthy of the life he’s found. Mikey and Kayla are worth the effort.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a Devils fan really (okay maybe a little bit) but there's a lot of stuff I'm still not 100% sure on. So sorry for any errors!
> 
> The fun stuff:
> 
> This fic happened because of a picture of Nate holding a little kid's hockey stick while that kid skated away with his. 
> 
>  
> 
> Mikey and Nate very obviously live happily ever after.
> 
>  
> 
> The part where we learn that Nate brings his own copy of a book to read to Kayla over skype is something my parents did with me when I was little and one of them was away on business except minus the Skype. There wasn't Skype then. The books we read was "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs," and "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales." 
> 
>  
> 
> Kayla is very truly going to be a handful as a teenager but in a good fun way.


End file.
